Inside the Huddle

An all-sports blog dedicated to the greater Silverdale area

Armed and ready: The science of throwing fastpitch

April 9th, 2010 at Fri, 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm by wesleyremmer

So, apparently their arms don’t fall off after all.
But how do the great softball pitchers throw so many pitches, so often, so consistently and seemingly with so little effort? Ten minutes twirling a yo-yo and some of us, me, are tuckered out. Yet these pitchers operate their arms like windmills and rarely break down.
Take a player like Danielle Lawrie, the University of Washington ace who led the Huskies softball team to the NCAA championship in 2009. The right-hander threw 352 2/3 innings over the course of the season, compiling a record of 42-8.
Turn on the tube, and you’d find Lawrie inside the pitching circle. All the time. Pitching on consecutive days was a norm, not an exception, the entire season.
And Lawrie’s not alone.
High school pitchers endure a similar workload, though their seasons are shorter. Carolyn Cross, a 2009 Central Kitsap High School grad, threw 1,956 pitches her senior season, 72 percent for strikes, and received nearly every start for the Lady Cougars. Senior Kim Chase has assumed a similar role this season, starting the first five games for Central Kitsap.
She keeps throwing and throwing and throwing and throwing and … OK, yeah. Check it out.

wesleyremmer Welcome! I'm the sports writer for the Bremerton Patriot and Central Kitsap Reporter, covering five high schools, Olympic College and various pro and semiprofessional teams who call Kitsap County home. You can find me on the sidelines, in the bleachers or floating around the practice field looking for the next story. Have a story idea? Call me at the office, (360) 308-9161, find me on Twitter or email wremmer@bremertonpatriot.com.

More articles by wesleyremmer >
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